Michael talks about his 11 month old Ryder x Copper puppy
He is great with a family. He is incredibly lovable. He always wants to be next to me or touching someone. He is very smart and has been a joy to train. He has never been afraid of anything. The first time we took him to the beach he charged right into the ocean after our older dog. He has great retrieving instincts and is very athletic. He can jump over or through anything. We are currently starting him in agility training. He is of medium to large build, but is solid muscle so is heavier then he appears. (currently 11 months old and 80 lbs). He is full of energy at the beach or on a hike, but will quickly relax and calm down once in the house. He also has a natural pointing tendency. We live next to the beach, with plenty of sea birds. On walks he points out birds in the canal, in the bushes, and in the air all the time.
I would highly recommend a pup from this combination.
When asked about his 11 month old Ryder x Copper puppy John comments
I highly recommend that you purchase from the Copper X Ryder litter. This chocolate lab pedigree, especially Ryder’s, speaks for itself. In addition, Pete Morrill is a fine person and I would trust him completely when selecting from the litter.
I am the proud owner of Gunner. Although I live in Arizona and do not hunt, I do provide Gunner an environment for him to demonstrate his abilities. I walk him every morning in the desert so that he can track quail and dove. He is an excellent flusher and, on occasion, has shown a propensity to point. His pointing would probably be more pronounced if I spent more time training in that regard.
I also take Gunner to a dog park that has a man made pond for dogs to swim. When he was a pup, I was initially concerned that he was afraid of the water because of his reluctance to get into the swimming pool at our house. However, when I took him to the dog park, the first time I threw a tennis ball into the pond, he waded right in and retrieved it as though he had be doing so for years! He is a tremendous water dog.
As for livability with the family, Gunner is full of personality, playful and loves to be around “his people”. He is also very friendly around neighbors, especially children. He socializes very well with other dogs.
I took Gunner through obedience training and he did very well in that environment. Gunner does everything that I expect to get out of him; any shortcoming in his trainability would be my responsibility. I am confident if you or Pete had trained him for hunting or field trials, Gunner would have responded well.
Gunner turns a year old next week. At eleven months, he weighed 76 pounds.
I hope this information helps, and I would not hesitate to buy from this litter. In fact, as a result of your email, my family has been nudging me to make another purchase!
Lisa comments about her 1 year old male "Ranger" from the Ryder x Copper breeding
We got a male pup from the Ryder x Copper litter and his name is Ranger. Although we do not hunt with him (we got him primarily as a family dog), I can speak about the other qualities you asked about.
Trainability: he has proven to be a very quick learner and people have commented on how good he has responded from early on. We have trained him to sit, stay, heel, come, avoid certain rooms in our house, and go to the back, left and right depending on what we ask of him.
Water: we are fortunate to live on a manmade lake and he has never been afraid to jump-in from early on (I think my husband had him swimming when he was 2.5 months old). Now he LOVES the water and we cannot keep him out (so we had to build a fence to prevent him from always coming up wet and muddy to our back door).
Liveability and personality: he is an extremely friendly dog who doesn't know a single enemy. He is sweet and gentle with our 21 month old daughter and has been from the very beginning. They love each other so much. He is also great with the neighbors and their pets. He even does well with my two cats (who don't care much for him at all). Like the others, he loves to be around "his people" and is very much a family dog. I will say his only downfall is that, when excited, he will jump a lot but that is our fault and we are working hard to break that habit now.
Other notes of interest: he never barks - even when the neighbor’s dogs bark constantly at everything. He also is a very athletic dog - my husband runs (long distances), mountain bikes, kayaks, etc. with him for at least an hour or two a day and for many, many hours on the weekends. He is a strong, athletic dog who loves to exercise and can always keep up. He weighs approx. 75 lbs at 1 year.
I highly recommend this litter. We have had a great experience.
Greg comments on him five month old Ryder x Copper pup
My son Brian and I are having a ball hunting the pup we got from you. She was the second pick, female, from the Ryder X Copper II breeding.
She is a natural at pheasant.......hard working and very birdy with a great nose. We took her to a pheasant club @ 5 mo. old, shot a couple of chukar over her, then put her in the field and let her do her thing. Attached is one picture of her with a few of the birds she flushed and retrieved (5 mo. old). Brian is working her on ducks often, and at her young age she's doing spectacular. She has already retrieved 30 some ducks, a couple of decoys, and some spent shells.
Greg updates us on his 11 month old Ryder x Copper pup
Our Mollie is also from Ryder x Copper. She's been a real joy for our family, and a hunting fool. I've had 4 labs before her and she's the best of the bunch. I have a 23 year old son that hunts all the time here in central California, and before she was 9 months old she retrieved close to 100 ducks, 25 plus pheasant, Ross, snow, and Canada geese. Her temperament, instinct, and desire, are results of great breeding.
Michael talks about his 11 month old Ryder x Copper puppy
He is great with a family. He is incredibly lovable. He always wants to be next to me or touching someone. He is very smart and has been a joy to train. He has never been afraid of anything. The first time we took him to the beach he charged right into the ocean after our older dog. He has great retrieving instincts and is very athletic. He can jump over or through anything. We are currently starting him in agility training. He is of medium to large build, but is solid muscle so is heavier then he appears. (currently 11 months old and 80 lbs). He is full of energy at the beach or on a hike, but will quickly relax and calm down once in the house. He also has a natural pointing tendency. We live next to the beach, with plenty of sea birds. On walks he points out birds in the canal, in the bushes, and in the air all the time.
I would highly recommend a pup from this combination.
When asked about his 11 month old Ryder x Copper puppy John comments
I highly recommend that you purchase from the Copper X Ryder litter. This chocolate lab pedigree, especially Ryder’s, speaks for itself. In addition, Pete Morrill is a fine person and I would trust him completely when selecting from the litter.
I am the proud owner of Gunner. Although I live in Arizona and do not hunt, I do provide Gunner an environment for him to demonstrate his abilities. I walk him every morning in the desert so that he can track quail and dove. He is an excellent flusher and, on occasion, has shown a propensity to point. His pointing would probably be more pronounced if I spent more time training in that regard.
I also take Gunner to a dog park that has a man made pond for dogs to swim. When he was a pup, I was initially concerned that he was afraid of the water because of his reluctance to get into the swimming pool at our house. However, when I took him to the dog park, the first time I threw a tennis ball into the pond, he waded right in and retrieved it as though he had be doing so for years! He is a tremendous water dog.
As for livability with the family, Gunner is full of personality, playful and loves to be around “his people”. He is also very friendly around neighbors, especially children. He socializes very well with other dogs.
I took Gunner through obedience training and he did very well in that environment. Gunner does everything that I expect to get out of him; any shortcoming in his trainability would be my responsibility. I am confident if you or Pete had trained him for hunting or field trials, Gunner would have responded well.
Gunner turns a year old next week. At eleven months, he weighed 76 pounds.
I hope this information helps, and I would not hesitate to buy from this litter. In fact, as a result of your email, my family has been nudging me to make another purchase!
Jennifer’s shares her thoughts on her two MMK puppies. (Ryder x Copper & Hacker x Goldie pup)
Hi- Pete! Well, it's been just about one year since my two puppies came to NJ. I have a chocolate male named Nigel from Copper x Ryder, and a yellow female named Remy from Goldie x Hacker. Nigel is a large, muscular lab, about 90-95 pounds and Remy is definitely small, at about 60-65 pounds. They are fabulous dogs! Remy is definitely more athletic, more driven to retrieve and track, and more prone to barking to get our attention! Nigel is INCREDIBLY affectionate, very cuddly, and strikingly good-looking. They have just started formal training with us and a professional trainer and are we are amazed with their intelligence and disposition.
You picked perfectly for our family, as they are 'soft' dogs that do not require much in terms of correction to really get the point. They are great with our kids, and really a pleasure. The trainer, who trains bomb and narcotics dogs, as well as dogs for TV work, said that Remy is a "machine"- she focuses and learns instantaneously, with a very strong desire to please.
I want to congratulate you on two great breedings and thank you for choosing two fabulous dogs for our family. Since our last yellow lab was a descendant of Super Chief, this is really saying a lot!
Cathy writes this about 4 month old Chance x Chena pup and her husband:
We couldn't be happier with our pup. She is a Chance X Chena pup that we picked up at Christmas. I wanted to show you how Steve has just started working on with her. You can see she loves the duck and is not afraid to jump in after it. Steve works on training every day, with retrieving, heal, wing on a rod, and walks. He has shot around her and she is not the least bit gun shy. She is all around great.
Jeff writes this about his one year old pup:
Wiley is doing great, he has had some obedience work and is a great looking dog, with a super sweet disposition. I am interested in possibly getting him some training and would like to get him going as soon as possible.
I had him out at Hastings Island before the season closed, and he has no fear of cover, water, or the gun. He even found a hen. I don’t know who was more surprised, me or him! Any way, thanks for the terrific pup.
Roger writes this about his 9 month old Hacker x Goldie puppy:
We just wanted to pass on a few pictures of our boy, Kalu. He is an integral part of our family. He is a real beaut and the upfront training that ya'll did has been great. He is amazing and always "hangs" on our every word & command. He absolutely loves playing with bumpers in the backyard. He is a retrieving machine.
Victor Garcia writes about his Stanley x Brooks puppy who is 3 months old
Happy holidays I hope you and your family the best this holiday season. The pup is doing well and growing fast. We are so happy with our new addition to our family.
P.S. As you can see from the picture we're trying not to spoil him to much.
Cody Buick writes about his Stanley x Brooks puppy who is just 8 weeks old
Hey Pete this is Cody Buick. Just letting you know the puppy's doing great so far. I've never seen dogs this intelligent at such a young age. Just in the last week she knows her name (Siskiyou), come, potty trained and she fetches very well.
Terry Noel writes about his two one year old puppies
Just wanted to let you know how happy we are with the pups we got from you about a year ago. Cody and Banner went on their first pheasant hunting trip last week. They weren't quite sure what that big bird was that I shot. But after they sniffed it a couple of times, they got the idea. I have to tell you, I have had several dogs over the years and those are the two smartest ones I have ever owned. Both are great pets and Cody, the light one, is an imp. He and my wife are something else to watch. Like my boys, he knows just how to push her buttons.
David Hathaway writes about his one year old chocolate male out of Ridge x Brooks litter. His pup is
Pete, we are very pleased with our Chocolate Lab we bought from you Nov 04. He did great hunting this year, pointed birds and is performing beyond our expectations. We would love to acquire another puppy from you…
Mike Peacock talks about his 8 month old pup Stryder, who is a Brooks x Ryder pup.
Hello Pete,
Just a note to give you some feedback on the pup I bought from you in June. (Ryder x Brooks) We named him “Stryder” and I just got back from a Kansas pheasant hunt. He is only 8 months old and he was exceptional!!! He worked the milo fields like a champ and busted through the rough cover like a veteran. I was hunting my two 1.5 year old females and he put them to shame. From my experience, I would say that this is a good breeding.
Jerry Villers owns a maturing Cuda x Juneau pup and he updates us on her progress.
I am giving you an update on No Lucy Goosie (Lucy). She is out of a Cuda x Juneau litter. She is three years old this season. She has developed into a very good waterfowl dog and an outstanding upland dog.
She has a great nose and her athletic abilities are amazing. She has incredible endurance and never slows down in the field. She is very intelligent and has figured out where birds are likely to hold, and no cover will stop her from finding the birds. My hunting friends all want to hunt with Lucy because of her abilities.
She is a very affectionate dog and fun to be around. She travels with us most of the time and is very well mannered. She can be left in her kennel in a hotel room and never fusses. The only exception is a hunting trip. She knows what is going on and doesn't want to miss the action.
We have certainly enjoyed owning one of your fine dogs.
Jim Robinson, who owns a Rip x Juneau pup, gives this report about his three month old pup.
Just wanted to bring you up to date since I wrote you last. I have had Duece out in the field and lakes here with other lab pups his age and I cannot believe the difference. Yesterday we were out fishing at a lake here with Duece. My son took the pup with him to the other side of a cove directly across from me. I watched him throwing a bumper in the water for Duece to retrieve. Both were having a great time in play. I yelled for my son to not tire the pup out. Duece looked up and saw me on the other side of the cove and immediately started to swim to me. I was a little worried because it was easily 80 yards and the water was deep were he was swimming. Duece swam directly to me without stopping, got out of the water shook one time like this is nothing, and was ready to play some more.
Pete, I just wanted you to know that this pup is solid. Duece also points a wing that we toss on the end of a fishing pole. You did a great job with this breeding and I thank you.
Hope we keep in touch.
Note: Jim bought his second Marble Mountain puppy in February of 2003.
Kevin Marks owns a 10 month old Rip x Juneau puppy and writes:
I have one of your Rip x Juneau pups. She is now about 10 months old and is now showing her pointing instinct. She is already a retrieving machine and has lots of desire to use her nose, and the last several trainings she has locked up on pheasants. Now that this has started to click I will be working on making her a pointer.
Dave Gilchrist comments on his 29 month old Ryder x Juneau male.
Wanted to give you an update on Kuda and his training. Kuda is in Iowa with a professional trainer – he has been there for two months and things are going well. The trainer’s name is Mark Jansma; Coon River Kennels out of Sac City, IA.
Mark’s comment on Kuda – says he is the hardest charging lab he has ever trained.
Anyhow, I know you are interested in how your dogs are doing. This one is a gem and he is doing a lot of what he loves - fetching, training, and hunting!!
I’ll let you know how our Canada trip goes.
Suzan Gaston owns a Ryder x Juneau puppy and writes:
I purchased a choc female from your litter of Ryder and Juneau of December 17, 2000. We named her Cuda's Halo and she has turned into a wonderful duck dog for my 16 year old son and a smart and wonderful pet, also. Although Halo had no formal training, she became an excellent duck dog. She is so smart and extremely quick to learn. By the way, she is a natural pointer, also. She is polite, with excellent manners. We couldn't ask for a better dog.
Her hips are rated OFA Good. She just had her first litter of puppies bred to Running With The Devil. She has 9 puppies, choc and black.
Randy Hiller who owns a Juneau x Cuda pup writes:
Pete, I thought I would drop you a note to thank you again on "Tugg." He's doing great and is at 34 pounds now. I assume you are the one who taught him sit, as he knew it from day one. He is now doing down, come, stay, stand, look, back, right and left over with ease as well as retrieving consistently from 100 feet to hand. Not gun shy and just an extremely lovable little guy. This is the smartest and easiest to train pup I have ever seen. Thanks again.
Kevin Chalfant from High Sierra Labs, who bought a Juneau x Cuda female writes:
Brooke, the chocolate female I got from you is doing well. I have taken her hunting on planted birds about a half dozen times. She is a natural and good pointer. She loves to retrieve as well. I haven't weighed her, but she is medium size and probably around 65 to 70 pounds. She will be a great hunter.
Jerry, who bought a Juneau x Cuda pup writes:
Since her first birthday is fast approaching, I thought you might be interested in hearing about Lucy. She had the opportunity to hunt pheasants in the Palouse, ducks on the Umatilla and ducks on the Columbia. She did very well her first season. She did a 100 yard plus blind retrieve on water in a jump-shooting situation. I sent her on a line and she swam the line until she saw the duck. I was very pleased. She is an extremely athletic dog. She can outrun and outswim other labs that are in their prime. She would rather retrieve than eat. When I start to get ready to hunt, she is a "shadow" excitedly waiting to go along. Lucy is probably the smartest dog I have been around. (Too smart for her own good sometimes) Here is an example of her intelligence. She knows she will get into trouble if she puts her feet on the kitchen counters. She wants to check out what's on the counters...so...she goes into the dining room and pushes a chair (they have wheels) into the kitchen. She gets on the chair so she can check out the counters. Sometimes it's scary trying to keep a step ahead of her.
Aaron Tracy, an owner of a Slick Nick x Fiona puppy writes:
Hi Pete. I have a black male (Hank) from the May 2000 litter out of Fio and Nick. I just wanted to send you an update to let you know how well things are going. He went on his 3rd hunt this past weekend and is doing fantastic. We shot 20 mallards and 4 pintails and he picked everything up with style. Here's an email from my hunting/training partner.....
”I have to give credit where credit is due. Hank was awesome. I thought about having one of my pups out there several times throughout the day and I think they would do okay, but no where near what he did. He never came off the platform, even with you 10 feet away in the blind and nothing between him and 25 mallards lighting in the dekes. He ran a couple blinds, handled well, chased down some classic cripples, picked up 24 birds total, and was unbelievably low maintenance. Darn man, pat yourself on the back twice for me. Pat him on the head too. Great work for a three or four year old dog, much less a year and a half old pup on his third hunt. All the hard work with him is really paying off.”
Amy Hughes owns a Kenai x Cuda puppy
My husband John and I have a male chocolate lab from Marble Mountain, Kenai X Cuda, in July 1999. His name is Tali, from Talisker. He is an absolute joy, with the best disposition, beautiful and with unreal retrieving desire. I see on your website that Kenai is accomplished with ducks and geese -- Tali takes after her on that. I have never seen a dog who is a better swimming retriever. He also looks quite a bit like Dutch, who I suppose is a brother to Tali. Good gene pool! I will try to send a picture of Tali to you so you can see what a gorgeous and alert dog he has become.
Narvel Black owns a Cuda x Juneau puppy of 2 years old
Pete, I thought I would drop you a note concerning Kiss the Juneau and Cuda pup that was born 2-28-2000. She will be 2 years old in 4 days. Kiss is currently with an AKC hunt test trainer in Hempstead, Tx; James Davis, owner of Limestone Kennels. Last spring James ran Kiss in six hunt test, She passed 5 consecutive Senior hunter test without having to handle on a single mark in all 5 test. After getting her senior title she ran and passed her first masters on November 3-4 2001. She was 21 months old when she passed her first AKC Master Hunter test. James ran 10 master level dogs in that test 3 of the 10 dogs needed only 1 pass to receive their title
Kiss and the trainer's dog Limestone's Roll the Dice were the only two to pass the test that he ran. If you get Retriever Field Trial News look on page 60 of the Jan 2002 issue She is the first dog listed in Master A of the Waterloo Amateur Retriever Club results. Kiss is a very stylish retriever. I believe you referred to Kiss as the royal collar pup. According to your puppy evaluation at 8 weeks she was the best retriever in the litter of 10. I have been told by professional trainers that Kiss may be a once in a lifetime dog. I have had many professional trainers comment on what a nice dog she is. She is an explosive retriever that is controllable.
We expect Kiss to complete her Master Hunter Title this spring. After that I hope to start her training for field trials. I hope to have her running in qualifying stakes before the year is over. She is one terrific little dog she weighs 68 pounds. I have started a web site Duck-Dogs.com there are some pictures of her on the web site. I will try to keep you posted on her progress.
David Gilchrist writes this of his 15 month old Juneau x Ryder puppy
Pete - hope things are going well!
Wanted to send a few pictures - have been meaning to do this for some time. My puppy is registered as Blue Rider's Barrakuda Bear - goes by Kuda.
Had him out hunting 15-18 times this year. He is impressive. We still have work to do but I am very pleased at both of our progress. Over the past six months he has trained at least once if not twice daily - I am doing it all my self (some help from Lardy's tapes). Have all the latest technology - remote launchers (3), had held launcher......... and a freezer full of frozen ducks.
He has not finished the double T as of yet. He is very ready, as we have finished 3 handed casting. He Marks unbelievably well - does triples in heavy cover. I cannot stress enough his "machine" like enthusiasm and spirit!!! I call him the machine and everyone who sees him train is totally taken back. He gets after it in a big way!
He is a beautiful animal, is in tip-top shape, and is as lovable as they come - great disposition and personality. He is 15 months now and ways in at 78 pounds. He is sleek and carries himself like no other lab I have seen.
Anyhow - wanted to get you up to speed. This is a great animal!!!
